


I Hear You Sing, O Blue Flower

by Be_Inspired



Category: Black Panther (2018), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Everyone Else Panics, Friendship, Gen, Kid Peter Parker, Peter-centric, Post-Black Panther (2018), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective M'Baku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 01:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14706615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Be_Inspired/pseuds/Be_Inspired
Summary: Months have passed and all of their attempts to cultivate the Heart Shaped Herb were met with no success. One day, a mysterious child arrived on the mountain, right in front of the Jabariland doorstep. The child is not familiar with his surroundings or how he got there, and he has vine plant cradled against his chest. Unfolded in the middle of the leaves, were heart shaped flowers that glows in lively, electric purple.He, called Peter Parker, is so determined, so stubborn to hand over the Heart Shaped Herbs only to the king of Wakanda.The thing is, unless Tony Stark is attempting some sort of cosmic joke, T'Challa is pretty sure the last time he met Peter Parker in Germany, he was a fifteen years old, bubbly teen with a secret superhero identity who almost floored Bucky.… Not a nine year old boy still in his pajama, shoe-less and only a hair away from freezing to his bone.





	I Hear You Sing, O Blue Flower

**Author's Note:**

> I came across this Manhwa, titled: Star's Last Wish. After reading the summary, I was heavily inspired to write this story where my idea kept on screaming 'Peter' and 'Wakanda.' Do enjoy!

* * *

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

 To say that the report of an outsider standing in front of Jabariland doorstep was enough to pull M'Baku from his daily meditation was truly and utterly, understatement.

The leader without a word, snapped his eyes open, stood up and ran, guards trailing behind him. He was not naked, thanks to Hanuman.

To say he was surprised to see the mentioned outsider apparently has taken a form of a child, couldn’t be taller than his waist, white with cropped brown hair was another understatement, more so when said child was armed with nothing but thin clothes that provided almost no protection from the harsh element the mountain was offering.  Even the choice of his clothing was unfamiliar to M'Baku and the man was certain none of the tribes residing in Wakanda wore animated dogs printed pants in any of their occasions.

Mysteries shrouded the small form of a child like it was his second skin.

What caught his eyes the most was the thing the boy was cradling against his chest. It was some sort of a plant. From where M'Baku was, the man could make tell of the vine plant and unfolded in the middle of the leaves, were heart shaped flowers that glows in lively, electric purple. M'Baku recognized that plant from anywhere, if memory served right.

It was the Heart Shaped Herb. And if memory served right, Killmonger had the garden wiped out and every attempt to cultivate it afterwards were met with failures.

M'Baku approached the child. Every step he made was with purpose.

At the moment, he was rounded by the guards, all heavily armed with weapons. He looked confused and frightened to his spine as the boy moved in circle, eyes landed from Jabari man to another Jabari man. And upon realizing M'Baku stood behind him, towering him with his massive height, the child jumped a foot in the air and quickly hunched down his shoulders.

"How did you get here, outsider? What's your business in Jabari land?"

Due to the difference of their height, the boy had to crane his neck slightly just to meet the other's eyes but flinched away when M'Baku fixed him with calculative stare. Others were tense, unable to decide whether to offer hostility to the outsider or… For Hanuman's sake, he was barefooted, almost swallowed by the snow up to his ankles without anything to hide. As wicked as anyone could be, M'Baku highly doubted they would send a shoe-less child to carry out any malicious act.

"I—um," The boy stuttered, probably from the cold and fright itself. His lips were chapped and his palms were white as the snow he stepped upon.

Patience was never M'Baku best virtue. "Speak up, little one. How did you get here up in the mountain? No matter how lack the security of Wakanda has become, I highly doubt you could make it up here without assistance."

He sniffed. "I don’t know."

M'Baku frowned at the lack of information. "You don’t know? How come you don’t know?"

Flinching, the child shied away by a step. "I don’t know! Please don't yell…" By now, he was on the verge of tears.

By then, all the guards were looking at him like he was an emotional constipated man who loved to torment a young child. M'Baku inwardly winced.

"I'm sorry. It wasn’t my intention to yell at you, little one. My voice is always like this." M'Baku started to speak slowly this time and bent down slightly to reduce the level of intimidation he had on the boy. "But where did you come from?"

The boy swallowed and calmed down. "There." He pointed somewhere at the forest below. It was well known as an uncharted territory as the only path leading towards and outside that area was treacherous even to native like the Jabari.

M'Baku frowned. "You live there? In the forest?"

"No!" The boy quickly shook his head. "I live in New York!" He bit his lower lip as he stared down at the snow almost covering his little feet. "I don’t know how I get here. I was sleeping in my bed… and when I woke up, I was in the forest. And—and, she said I need to take this flowers and give them to the king."

"And you walk all the way from the forest to here? Up to the mountain?"

He nodded solemnly. "I saw the statue." He pointed at the statue of Hanuman behind M'Baku. "And I don’t know where else to go…"

The words came out in harsh whispers as he motioned the Heart Shaped Herbs cradled in his chest. Somehow, instead of using the thin looking blanket to protect himself from the element, the boy had made use of it to gather the plant—leaves, roots, soil and all.

"'She'?" One question was answered but only to be met with another question. "Who is this 'she' you mentioned just now..?"

"I don’t know. I didn’t see her. I just heard her voice."

He was given more calculative stares which only amplified his panic.

"It's true! I'm not lying!" He was on the verge of breaking down again and he sobbed soundless tears. "I'm tired. I wanna go home…"

Sighing, pity began to settle in. What kind of force that would send in an innocent child to his land was beyond his understanding. "I know you're not lying. And this flower..?" He prompted.

The boy looked up. "I'm supposed to give them to the king. Are you the king?"

"I am the leader of Jabari."

Frowning, it was clear that his statement didn’t reach the younger's understanding. "But you're not the king..?"

"No, I'm not."

Faster than lightning, the boy stepped away, turned to his side and quickly shielded the flowers with his body. "Then I won't give you the flowers."

M'Baku sighed again before removing his fur coat only to drape it around the boy's shoulders. "Very well. I shall summon the king but for now," He straightened up. "Come with me. Nothing will make sense when we are standing out here and it's too cold to think."

As he said it, the man held out his hand, beckoning the boy to take it.

The child stared it for a moment or two, bringing the fur around him closer, then gave a curious look at M'Baku, then back at his hand. M'Baku gestured again before the younger finally took it, curling his much colder and smaller fingers around M'Baku's warmer ones.

It wasn’t until the fifteenth steps that the boy finally spoke again. Despite the cold biting into his skin and dry wind ruffling his brown strands into different direction, his mood has somewhat lifted into much a better place. "My name's Peter. What's yours?"

Lifting his left eyebrow, M'Baku stared down at the child who was now brimming with curiosity. They were closing in the palace as they walked, hands still linked together while the boy's free hand hold the herbs against his chest. To match the other's smaller pace, the Jabari leader had to walk slowly albeit wanting nothing more but just to reach the palace and it's warmth as soon as possible.

 "It's M'Baku."

"M'Baku?" He, called himself Peter, frowned. "What kind of name is M'Baku?"

"It's a strong name."

Still frowning, Peter only pursed his lips together to form a long hum. The rest of their walk was filled with silence except for the howling of the frosty mountain wind and the crunching noise made by their footsteps on the thick snow. Once in a while, the child would curl his fingers around M'Baku tighter as if to soak the comforting heat off the man.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

 An hour has passed since M'Baku spoke to the king of Wakanda via the Kimoyo Beads that T'Challa insisted for him to have. Granted, the beads functionality, invented by a little girl exceeds its expectation. But M'Baku possessed an ego higher than any mountain out there and both of them would be long dead before he admitted it out loud.

Still, it took almost fifteen minutes to describe his piece of story to the king. Nothing made sense at the moment. Be it Peter's story or the situation. Needless to say, it left T'Challa very much confused and well…unable to comprehend. He imagined the man must be fidgeting inside his fancy plane and hopefully, he had remembered to change out of his night clothes. The dawn barely broke the remnant of the night when M'Baku had ringed the man earlier.

By right, the king and his details should have arrived by now. But then again, there was no proper landing area for his royal talon and M'Baku refused to build one to suit T'Challa's whim. There was one, far off from their doorstep and required a bit of leg work to reach the palace from the area.

Unless Black Panther wanted to jump and charge downwards like a young Galahad, the king and his escorts would have to do a little walking. Well, that's his problem.

As they waited, he fed and clothed the boy with thick blanket which now had pooled around his tiny waist, still preferring the fur he had provided earlier s his source of comfort. M'Baku had assumed that Peter must be hungry due to his days long of journey—due to fear and confusion, he didn’t remember how many days have passed since he had woken up in the middle of the forest.

But judging the way the boy inhaled his second bowl of warm porridge, the boy was clearly starving. How the small child was able to survive in that harsh weather without any sustain was above his comprehension.

While Peter ate on the wooden bench T'Challa used to sit not long ago, the servant tended to his bruised feet which M'Baku noticed earlier when the boy made pained grunts as he first stepped on the hard flooring. Upon checking, tiny cuts littered all over the sole of his feet and one particular cut had slashed across the ball of his left heel. Though deep, it has stopped bleeding but the skin around it was tender. Any moment later, infection would have settled in. Peter must have caught sharp branches on his way here.

M'Baku attention was refocused when Peter made a ticklish, gurgling noise after the servant's careful fingers accidentally brushed against the centre of the sole. She raised a curious eyebrow which the boy quickly swallowed the rest of the laughter behind his spoon. The clothes used to wrap around his bruised feet have been soaked in traditional herbal concoction. It would sting a moment, before a comforting cold feeling replaced the prickly sensation. Technology without doubt, would heal the wounds in much faster rate, but the leader of Jabari has faith in tradition.  

By the time the servant had finished wrapping up her feet, Peter had finished with his porridge and now sipping on his warm milk, the herbs still protected with his arm which curled around his chest.

After the forth sips, Peter finally looked up at M'Baku who's sitting on the throne, watching his every move. "Is the king coming here?"

"Yes."

"Why can't we go to the castle instead?"

"Indeed we could, couldn’t we?" M'Baku fiddled with the loose strand of the wrist guard absent-mindedly. "But why bother when he could come up here by himself. It's not everyday I can drag the cat from his high throne to climb on the mountain."

M'Baku lazy drawled has left the young boy confused yet again. Instead of probing the subject further, Peter turned around on his seat and set his eyes far beyond the wooden decorations and the open window as if to drink the serenity offered by the mountains covered in a fresh sheet of snow. It's not just mountains. Here, in Jabari land, everything was covered in thick, sugary-like frost.

M'Baku imagined how Peter's breathings intensified with every puff he took while he was in the forest, how frightening it must have been, to have his cries for help muffled by the thick snow that blanketed the branches.

"Do you like the snow?" Palm cradling his cheek, M'Baku asked the boy.

As he munched on the sweetened nuts, Peter looked back at the man sitting on the throne and shrugged. "I guess."

"Doesn’t America have snow all the time?"   

"Not all the time. But yeah, we have snow there." The boy gave a thoughtful chew, his legs swung back and forth. "But I like it better here. It's…" He paused momentarily in deep thought. "Whiter."

Leaning back against his seat, M'Baku snorted. "You speak funny, little one."

A small crease formed in between the boy's eyebrows. "My name's Peter. And I'm not little."

"You're the smallest here."

Taken back, Peter pursed his lips together in defiance. "I'll grow! Aunt May says I'm a growing boy. Maybe one day I'll grow bigger than you!"

M'Baku felt his interest peaked. "Aunt May..? You live with your aunt?"

"U—huh."

"And your parents?"

"They died." Was his answer before the boy went to set his gaze far, far away on the snowy mountains.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Turns out, Peter was quite fond of the snow in Jabari that even when the king of the nation arrived, the boy barely noticed his presence despite the tiniest commotion T'Challa was making, guards and all.  

In contrary with his title as the panther king, today, T'Challa seemed to have lost all the grace he has been keeping close to his chest. Like a minuscule whirlwind, the young king entered the Jabari palace in such urgency, all over the place, the tail of his royal robe swished behind him like he was in a love drama movie, with clumps of snow on his shoulders and head. Escorted him were two of his best warriors—Okoye and Ayo. _Good_. Had he bring the whole hoard—Shuri included—surely the palace would be trampled to the ground.

It made M'Baku frowned at the mess in his hall. T'Challa at the moment was similar to a cat that has his fur ruffled by the wind and rain and leaving muddy paw prints all over the floor.   

"Well?" T'Challa said almost impatiently, more so when M'Baku made no notion to move from his throne or offered words or tea and biscuit like a host. "You said it's important. What is it?"

M'Baku rolled his eyes dramatically. Fifteen minutes and a bucket worth of spit and yet, the young king was unable to catch any jack words he said earlier in the beads.

The Jabari leader still didn’t move. Because there was no cause for him. Because he wanted to ruffle the cat further by simply nodding towards the oblivious child sitting on the bench, eyes still glued to the scenery the Jabari land had to offer. It was nothing much per se, but Peter's simplicity proved otherwise.

The look T'Challa was making upon noticing a white boy in his radius of breathing was, well, amusing to say at least. The sensation was intensified by the three times when the Dora Milaje too, wore the very same expression. Another five people, they could shoot a sitcom drama in the palace. M'Baku would have laughed if it wasn’t too quiet inside the room.

"What," T'Challa began and did a double look. "How did he get here..? I receive no report—"

"That is not important right now. You can figure out the mystery later without me." M'Baku cut him off. When T'Challa gave him a scandalous look, he nodded at the boy again. "Look at his hand."

In Peter's current position, it was difficult to see. M'Baku called out, "Little one. The king is here just as you have requested."

Like a whip, Peter turned to his head to the side, drank the sight before him for a solid ten seconds before coordinating his whole frame to turn around as well. Before long, he was facing T'Challa and his company.

As metaphoric as it could get, the Heart Shaped flower glowed brighter in his arms. It left all three of them in a state of disbelieving and gasping.

Okoye broke the trance firsthand. "Impossible. The Heart Shaped Herb. How did he find it? Who is this child..?"

"If you ask him those questions, you will only have more questions in mind. It's crazy." M'Baku continued. "The only thing I know is, he is tasked to give the herbs only to the king. So take them and leave. He will be your problem to solve then."

Ignoring the sarcasm, the king approached the boy.

"Are you the king..?" Peter asked once T'Challa was an arm length away. Not equipped with knowledge on how to properly address a king, the boy stayed on his seat, only craning his neck to meet T'Challa's puzzled gaze.

So many questions, too many in mind. But T'Challa felt he should entertain the boy's question firsthand. "Yes. My name is T'Challa."

"You have funny name too." Incredulity clouded the boy's brown eyes. A small frown marred his boyish features. "You don't look like a king. I thought M'Baku is the king. He's bigger and looks stronger than you."

Behind him, on his seat, M'Baku was howling with laughter that shook the ceiling, hand slapping against the armrest. He was deeply amused by the notion and once again, by Peter's simplicity on viewing things before his eyes.

"Well said, little one!"

Whipping his head, T'Challa scowled at the Jabari leader before kneeling down to level his eyes with the boy's. "I can ensure you, he may be bigger than me, but I am definitely stronger than him. I won in the fight with him fair and square."

Peter's frown intensified. "I don't believe you." He then looked at M'Baku for confirmation.

"That's only one time and by pure luck, little king."

In front of the child, T'Challa almost rolled his eyes.

"So you're really the king? You're not lying?" Peter asked him again.

"Yes, I am. I would never lie to you."

The child went silent, went still as statue, eyes looking at T'Challa, looking passed the façade, furiously searching for sincerity behind his words. He seemed pleased with his finding because a moment later, he unfurled his arms and pushed the herbs forward into T'Challa's chest.

"Alright then. I believe you. Here, these flowers are for you."

In trepidation, heart pounding madly in his ribcage, the young king looked down, accessing the flowers thrust into his chest. No matter from which angle he looked, it was without doubt, the Heart Shaped Herb.

T'Challa looked at Okoye and nodded in which she responded with a relief sigh. Oh, how pleased the elders and the priests would be with the development. How delighted Shuri and mother would be had them be here.

As important the flowers may be, T'Challa felt responsible to address other matters as well. Like why there was an enormous elephant taking a form of a child inside the room…   

"Before that," The young king took the blanket housing the flowers from Peter's awaiting hand, but keeping them in his arms for the moment. "Do you know where this is?"

"Jabari." Peter simply answered.

T'Challa nodded in confirmation. "You're not wrong. You're indeed in Jabari. But here is also Wakanda."

The frown was back and intensified tenfold. "Where is Wakanda? I've never heard Wakanda. I got an A for my social study, but I never heard it."

"It's a small country in Africa." It made sense. It wasn’t long ago that Wakanda had decided to join the rest of the world. So it was understandable for it to have yet made an appearance inside their curriculum—history, economy, society, technology and all.

"This flower," Both of them were now gazing at the Heart Shaped Herbs in his arms. "Thank you for giving this to me. It is very valuable for my people. Where did you find it..?"

Unable to comprehend T'Challa appreciation and the important value of the herbs, Peter casually pointed at the same direction he had showed to M'Baku not long ago. "There. In the forest."

His answer made T'Challa wore the same look M'Baku had earlier on. Peter seemed to catch on his next question.

"I don't know how I got here. I just woke up and I wasn’t in my bed and there were flowers on the cliff. She said to take the flowers and give them to the king."

T'Challa looked at M'Baku in which the man only shrugged. "He said the same thing to me. Anymore questions and the best answer he could offer you is, 'I don't know'."

"Who? Who told you that?"

"I don’t know. I just heard her voice."

Behind T'Challa, M'Baku snorted. "I told you so."

"Quiet, you!" T'Challa hissed at M'Baku lack of aid in the situation before settling his attention back at the boy. "And you walked..? All the way up here?" As he said that, the young king couldn’t tear his gaze at child's state, at his pajama pants, at his wrapped feet and thin t-shirts. The boy literally had nothing on him, except for the fur coat that T'Challa recognized as M'Baku's. In that state, the boy could have easily died out of starvation, coldness, the wilderness and everything.

"I didn't know what else to do. The flowers look important…"

And yet, he possessed the determination higher than anything out there to complete the task given by nothing but a voice. T'Challa didn’t know what to think but to feel awed at the small creature and ashamed at himself at his lack of willpower to venture further into Jabari's uncharted territory.

Suddenly, he looked at T'Challa. Exhaustion was wiring the boy's frame all over and he looked like he was halfway from passing out. "I'm tired… I wanna go home. I wanna call my Aunt. She must be freaking out right now. And I think I've missed school…"

"Of course. We should at least inform you family." The king beckoned for Dora to take the herbs from his arms. Okoye stepped forward and quickly took it, handling it with care. "What's your name? Do you remember your name?"

With the thought of finally returning home, to his aunt, to his bed and books, light returned to Peter's eyes as the boy bounced on his seat. "It's Peter! Peter Parker!"

If T'Challa was shocked, he made no move to hide it. Not with eyes widened into an impossible fracture, tense shoulders and mouth slightly jarred apart.

"Peter Parker..?" Once his mind was there to focus back, the man said almost in disbelief.

Oblivious and excited, the boy nodded furiously to match his swinging legs. ""U-huh."

"By any chance," The man stirred the water further. "Do you live in Queen?"

By the way Peter was bouncing, T'Challa knew he has hit the mark. "How do you know that?"

T'Challa didn’t answer and quickly stood up like he was stabbed with a hot poker. The cogs and gears in his head were whirling too fast for himself to catch on, to put the pieces together. They didn’t match. Not two pieces fitted together. No matter how hard his mind working to put the puzzle pieces together to form a complete picture, it ended up crumbling into one hot mess.

"My king," Sensing her king's sudden distress, Okoye passed the herb to Ayo before approaching the man. "What's wrong? Do you know him?"

Puzzled, Peter only looked T'Challa.

"After the fight in Germany," T'Challa answered in whispering voice.  "I did some research on all of them, just in case if we are ever in need of possible ally, Spider-Man included."

Okoye waited patiently next to him for T'Challa to continue. "My resource confirmed that Spiderman is a fifteen years old boy, now sixteen, living in Queen."

"And he is Peter Parker..?" She prompted in hesitation where the panther king only nodded.

"I thought I recognize his face… the resemblance."

Next to him, the general frowned. "But you said he's sixteen. This child," They looked back at Peter who gave them an equally open stare. "He couldn’t be more than ten. Are they the same person? Or just someone who shares the same name by coincidence?"

T'Challa went silent.

"What's going on here?" All of sudden, M'Baku was standing right behind him, overhearing their hushed conversation.  

Both T'Challa and Okoye jumped.

"Who's Spider-Man?" All of sudden, Peter was standing right in front of them, grinning and excited like waking up in someone else's house was his everyday norm.

Both T'Challa and Okoye jumped again.

T'Challa glared at the leader. "M'Baku!"

"What?" The other frowned back and crossed his arms. "I'm not his keeper." T'Challa could glare and hiss and spit all he wants and sees if he cares.

A sigh pursed his lips together. "Give me a moment. I'll be right back." The king gave Peter a small smile before walking towards the hallway.

"Hey." Still frowning, M'Baku called for the Panther King. "Where are you going? Don’t leave him here."

"I need to call someone." T'Challa merely answered before whispering to himself. "And he's not over fond of me."

"Who?" Okoye caught the last bit of his sentence before looking over at the confused boy who has crept close to M'Baku.

Again, with the exasperated sigh. He did however turn around on his heels and gave a torn look for the world to witness.

"Spider-Man's mentor."  

 

**\--To Be Continued--**

**Author's Note:**

> The grammar is far from perfect. I know that. That is why I am in need of help of Beta readers. Is that the correct term..? How do I find one, really?


End file.
